Flying Blue’s New Subscription Option: Is’Extra’ a Good Deal?

Qualifying for airline elite status is no easy feat these days.

Then, out of the (Flying) Blue, we hear that Air France-KLM’s Flying Blue program has launched Flying Blue Extra — a subscription that gives its members more ways to earn miles and status-earning points, rather than taking them away.

This has certainly piqued our interest, so let’s take a closer look to see whether this new subscription could be right for you.

Flying Blue Extra: Air France-KLM’s Loyalty Program’s New Subscription

While loyalty program subscriptions aren’t a new phenomenon, they’re a rare occurrence.

Flying Blue, the joint loyalty program of Air France and KLM, offers two package options: “Essential” for €379 ($436) per year or “Extended” for €699 ($804) per year.

The table below outlines the benefits included with each package.

Both packages are valid for a period of 12 months. The Essential and Extended package benefits will be available to use within 24 hours of purchase.

The packages also include a 14-day cool-off period. Cancellations after that time won’t be refunded. Interestingly, your benefits are still valid during this cool-off period.

Who Would Get the Most Value From a Flying Blue Extra Subscription?

At first glance, it looks like you get a decent amount of benefits for the cost. The discounts and bonus miles earning are certainly nice to have for all Flying Blue members. There’s no information regarding what could be available with the “exclusive monthly promotions,” so we don’t know for sure yet how much value that benefit will bring.

However, on closer inspection, a subscription is only really valuable to you if you’re a Flying Blue Explorer or Silver status holder — the program’s first 2 status levels.

Primarily, it’s because those 2 status levels don’t come with lounge access. Members with Gold, Platinum, and Ultimate status already have unlimited lounge access included as a benefit.

Even then, that’s probably the best perk of the Essential membership. It would then be up to the individual to decide whether getting bonus miles, discounts on redemptions, and 2x lounge passes is worth $436 annually. Let’s face it, if you’re only a Flying Blue Explorer or Silver member, you’re probably not flying Air France or KLM frequently enough to make it a worthwhile investment.

However, the Extended membership is where the subscription becomes interesting, thanks to the 20% extra XP (XP is the Flying Blue currency that earns status). Depending on how many flights you take with Air France or KLM, earning 20% bonus XP each time would certainly add up. This adds significant value for anyone trying to progress through the status levels from Silver to Gold and beyond.

Factoring in the additional 2x lounge access vouchers (now at 4x) per year, an Extended membership could provide excellent value to a Silver member who will enjoy complimentary lounge visits while earning bonus XP towards their status-earning efforts.

That said, $804 is not a small amount and should be taken into consideration when deciding if an Extended membership is right for you.

As a Flying Blue Platinum member myself, I won’t be signing up for the subscription, even though I could really use the bonus XP to help me requalify this year. I don’t see enough value in the other benefits to justify spending $804.

Final Thoughts

The idea of a subscription to earn bonus miles and status-earning points is something I wish more airlines would adopt.

However, subscribing to Flying Blue Extra would only provide actual value for a very niche set of Flying Blue members. I think Flying Blue missed the mark here a bit by not making this an attractive product for members at all status levels. The addition of benefits, such as upgrades or larger discounts and bonuses, could make Flying Blue Extra more appealing to loyal Flying Blue members like myself.